At first glance, you can tell that the Beneteau Swift 34 has a cruising pedigree. The more time we spent with her, the better we liked her for a cruising couple -- whether they have long range aspirations or just short range. She is easy to handle, economical to operate, has room for a second couple (or two kids) in a stand-up cabin, and best of all she is affordable. The Swift 34 will cruise happily at 15 knots all day or at 7 knots for a couple of weeks. We think that this boat can make the cruising dream possible for some people that may have thought they would never be able to pull it off.

Specifications

Beneteau Swift Trawler 34 (2013-) Specifications

Length Overall

36' 0'' 10.97 m

Dry Weight

16,420 lbs 7,448 kg

Beam

13' 1'' 3.98 m

Tested Weight

N/A

Draft

3'3'' 0.99 m

Fuel Cap

211 gal. 799 L

Deadrise/Transom

N/A

Water Cap

85 gal 322 L

Max Headroom

6' 5'' 1.96 m

Bridge Clearance

N/A

Prices, features, designs, and equipment are subject to change. Please see your local dealer or visit the builder's website for the latest information available on this boat model.

Engine Options

Beneteau Swift Trawler 34 (2013-) Captain's Report

By Capt. Steve

The Beneteau Swift 34 has a LOA of 36'0" (10.97 m) and a beam of 13'1" (3.98 m). Some may view that size as hard to manage, but we'll prove them wrong. Some may think the boat is too small, and we'll give some reasons to re-think that, as well.

Beneteau started out life building sailboats. Now don't tell anyone we said so, but we think sailboat designers are much better at squeezing the last drop of performance out of a hull than their powerboat counterparts. And when it comes to layouts, they are used to getting more into less space because, in case you haven't noticed, sailboats are pretty cramped below. For those reasons we couldn't wait to test the Beneteau Swift 34 and find out if she would be comfortable for a cruising couple.

Notice the side entry door midships. This plays a pivotal role in single-handing the 34. To improve efficiency Beneteau has not extended the keel all the way aft. Still, it offers a good measure of protection to the prop and rudder.

Now Boarding

You can board the Swift 34 from a number of locations, but two are primary... the boarding gate to starboard midships, and the cockpit entry from the swim platform. Let's focus on the cockpit entry for now.

The swim platform extends aft 2.9' (.88 m) and on our test boat it was covered in teak -- left natural, it really added to the weathered and well-traveled look of the 34. To starboard is a relatively large reboarding ladder with integrated handholds both on the ladder and the platform itself. The entry to the cockpit is over to port and I found the aft cockpit to be roomy enough for additional deck chairs, which conveniently enough were right in the salon. An optional large bench wraps around from the gate to the starboard side, with the ladder to the flying bridge just ahead on the starboard side.

Below the deck is a lazarette big enough to hold plenty of gear, or dry stores for an extended trip, as well as the generator.

It's the little details that make a difference. Notice the stainless chafing strip on the caprail. I'd love to add 8-10 coats of varnish on this teak if this were my boat.

Asymmetry Pays Off

The Swift 34 employs an asymmetrical layout, and the wider side deck is to starboard. From the aft cockpit, there is a door that closes off the side deck from the stern on the starboard side, and a portlight is built into the door to ensure that you don't open it into someone's nose should they come from the opposite direction. This door is important because when you are on the hook, or motoring along, it keeps the wind off the aft deck and makes it a good place to hang out.

All the caprails are unfinished teak, and my eye could only see them as sanded down and layered with 8-10 coats of spar varnish. Yes it adds maintenance, but my OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) was kicking in as I walked the decks, and I'd be happy to add that sense of pride myself if this were my boat.

Here you can easily see the asymmetrical layout with the wider starboard side deck. From the upper helm a taller captain can see the stern through the stairway hatch. I could not, at 5' 8'' tall. Notice the way the bridge deck extends over only the starboard side deck.

Beneteau is clearly leaving the varnish decision up to the owner, and some people will be quite happy to give the rail a good drink of teak oil every month or so and let it go at that. Take your pick, but either way the teak caprail is an important detail and one that sets this boat apart from similar boats that are built in the Far East and elsewhere at a low price-point.

A good view of the asymmetrical side deck layout. Notice the door in the starboard side deck but there isn’t one to port.

The starboard side deck is also on the same level as the aft deck. The port side deck is elevated by two steps. The refueling port is to starboard and Beneteau thoughtfully placed it inside a closed compartment that shares space with the fuel vent, with a convenient overflow that directs the excess back to the tank, rather than onto the deck or over the side. Nice touch.

The salon is cozy and practical. Forward to port is the "U"-shaped galley and the raised helm seat is to starboard.

Salon Salute

You enter the salon from the aft sliding doors. Two of the three glass sections open, so flow-through ventilation is maximized. Underway, these doors remained where I put them regardless of my attempts to close them with aggressive helm maneuvers. This is a rather remarkable achievement.

A pull-out sofabed is to starboard, and the previously mentioned deck chairs are to port. A cherry cabinet is behind the deck chairs with storage inside. All the windows open and I found the area to be comfortable and inviting. You have a good view of the surroundings going from the sides and certainly out the stern through the glass doors.

The portside of the salon accommodates these director's chairs. Notice the storage cabinets behind. The windows open sideways, and you can see that the deck is all on one level.

From outside the boat looks like a typical raised pilothouse design. However, inside, the helm deck of the boat is actually not raised at all. Rather, only the helm seat is raised. As a result there is one deck level that extends all the way from the aft deck through to the companionway going below. This is a real plus, because it is far easier -- and safer -- to be moving about in a seaway on one level rather than having to negotiate steps to and from the helm area.

The aft deck cockpit is huge on this boat, and makes a good al fresco dining area. The galley is well equipped.

Galley

The galley is forward and to port of the main salon and enjoys the same 6.5' (1.96 m) headroom as the salon. The galley is "U"- shaped and features a double basin stainless steel sink, a 2-burner gas stove, a microwave, and a 137 quart (130 L) refrigerator. Beneteau thoughtfully created storage for the propane tank below a hatch in the port side deck.

The galley is to port of the helm. I found the drawers to be large enough for plates, and I was happy to see the shelf below the window for ancillaries. The window opens for flow-through ventilation, especially convenient when cooking.

Helm

The lower helm station is to starboard and accommodates a double wide helm seat that slides fore and aft. The 6.5' (1.96 m) overhead continues here, and to accommodate shorter captains there is a flip down step that will allow for more height and therefore more visibility.

The captain will be looking ahead through three safety glass windows with aluminum frames lacquered black. All three have windshield wipers/washers and I was happy to see defogging vents to keep things clearer on rainy days. Our test boat was equipped with the optional Raymarine E 120 wide screen display. We had full instrumentation as well as my personal favorite, the rudder angle indicator. In addition to our single engine, our boat was also equipped with bow and stern thrusters.

A sliding door with integral bug screen not only allowed for additional flow-through ventilation but access to the starboard side deck. Beneteau seems always to be mindful that many boats are single-handed at least some of the time, and by putting a door next to the helm a skipper can easily pop out and tie his boat up by himself.

The helm is straightforward, and I found that it was much easier to dock the 34 from this lower station. The seat is double wide and slides fore and aft, but I found the slide release to be a bit difficult to operate. All three windows have wiper/washers and defrosters.

Bow

The 28" (71 cm) rail height exceeds minimum requirements for safety. An anchor davit holds the ground tackle secure and a standard windlass assists in retrieval. Access hatches on both sides of the windlass allow for plenty of room to reach in should it be necessary to untangle the chain.

A sun pad lies atop the cabin and it makes an outstanding place to sit and watch the world go by on a cruise.

Below Decks

The Swift 34 is a two-cabin, one-head layout with the master fully forward. A queen sized berth is accessible only from the foot as the space on the sides is used for much needed stowage. A small seat lies to port at the foot, and the usual hanging lockers are to either side.

The forward berth does not allow access from the sides because that area is used for storage. Portside berths are over/under, and the shared head is to starboard.

The wet head was roomy enough for me to remain comfortable taking a mock shower and a curtain keeps the contents dry. And two people can actually use the head at once.

To port is a second stateroom with twin berths, one over the other. The upper berth will be fought over as it is the only one with dual portlights, one of which is opening. There is space inside the second cabin to stand and change clothes, but that is about all. Nevertheless, in a 34' boat this is quite an accomplishment. We can think of 44' boats that have much smaller guest cabins.

Flying Bridge and Boat Deck

Access to the flying bridge is via the stairs leading up from the cockpit. The aft end of the flying bridge is called the "boat deck" in this arrangement and here there is room for a small tender fore and aft. It can be launched with the mast and winch. Our test boat didn't have a tender, and as such it was easy to see my guests enjoying the day sitting on deck chairs in this open spot, while the boat swings at a remote anchorage. I always recommend that owners install removable chocks for their tender in order to make dual use of the boat deck.

I found this to be a great place to pilot the 34, but I prefer docking from below for better "close in" visibility.

Forward there is "L"-shaped seating, with the "L" going the wrong way to my way of thinking. It requires people to sit with their backs to the bow, and that's not the way people like to cruise. I'm also an advocate for as many eyes looking forward as possible, and it seems like it would be a simple fix to rotate the seating so that my guests could enjoy my view as well. I would just flip the layout and move the table forward.

View from the Helm

The helm is to starboard, much as below, so when docking to starboard the skipper has better sight lines than would be the case if the helm were on the centerline. Conversely, if you were to dock on the port side, because the helm is to starboard there is commensurately less visibility. There is a view of the stern through the stairway hatch, but I wasn't tall enough to see the stern, without standing on my tip-toes. With time, of course, and a helpful first mate, owners will get used to the distances just as one does when parking an automobile.

For me, docking the 34 was better accomplished from the lower station. And as it turned out, visibility wasn't the only benefit.

Engine Room

Perhaps the largest compromise on the Swift 34 is the location, size and access to the engine room. There is not much the builder can do about this given the fact the boat is only 34' long. As is typical in this type of design, the single engine is located under the salon deck. As regular readers know, BoatTEST.com is adamant about morning fluid checks and daily engine room general inspections. Getting to it requires some thought and planning.

The engine compartment is beneath the salon sole. Move the chairs out, and slide the table off the carpet to access.

As the boat I tested was set up, I first had to pull out the deck chairs, and then move the pedestal table. To me, that was a two-person job as I also had to remove the snap-in carpeting from underneath the table at the same time, and that requires you to lift the table, not slide it. Sliding it would risk scratching the wood deck underneath.

If this were my boat, I would eliminate the snap-in carpet and put the table on two recessed tracks in the sole so I could easily move the table by myself. With those two changes, doing daily fluid checks and engine room inspection will be painless.

Power Up

Our test boat was powered by a 425-hp Cummins QSB 5.9L HO diesel. There was enough room all around the engine to check for leaks and perform minor maintenance, short of oil changes. Cummins doesn't build their engines with the ancillary items able to be switched from one side to the other, and in the Swift 34 the oil filter was largely inaccessible. I'd like a remote oil change system to be added to the options list, but you'd still have to change the filter.

The engine was mounted on vibration absorbing mounts well secured to the stringers. I was happy to see two fixed automatic discharge fire extinguishers in the forward corners of the engine compartment. The stainless steel driveshaft passed through a dripless shaft seal as opposed to a stuffing box.

Good Sound Numbers

Looking at the engine room hatch I noticed 3/4" (1.9 cm) marine grade plywood with 1-1/2" (3.8 cm) of foam sound protection all around. I had concerns that this still would not be enough sound protection for the main salon, but as it turned out it did a very effective job, indeed. With the engine idling I measured sound levels in the low 60 dBA range, and while cruising we were having a simple conversation with no shouting. At 15 knots I recorded only 78 dBA in the salon.

If you are concerned about having engine noise in the salon, relax, as Beneteau has figured out how to absorb the noise. The sound numbers we recorded were about the lowest we have ever measured on this type boat.

This fish's-eye-view of the Swift Trawler 34 accentuates her high topsides, flying-bridge overhang that covers the side deck and traditional portholes in the hull. Both hull and deck are balsa-cored fiberglass to save weight and improve performance.

Close Quarters Handling

I've spent a lot of years operating single screw inboards and have a pretty good feel about when it works and when it doesn't. The Swift 34 is one of the ones that works. I locked us into a small basin in front of a fuel dock, and put the 34 through some tight maneuvers.

I was almost able to get her to pivot in her own length. If you back down a bit, and then turn the wheel hard over, just a shot of "ahead" will allow you to use the aft momentum to push only the stern around without cancelling out that reverse momentum. You can't do it continually, of course, sooner or later you'll start moving forward, but I could control the pivot quite nicely in this manner.

Docking Tip

With the sliding door to starboard, and the inboard's natural tendency to back to starboard, you'll want to always be sure to lay the 34 starboard to. Once I had my fun in the basin, I backed up to the fuel dock, nice and gently, and once alongside, I simply stepped out the open side door and tied the boat up single handed, with a crosswind trying, but failing to blow the 34 off.

That alone was very telling to me, as I see this boat as a cruising couple's boat. In my house, that means I have to do everything myself, and being able to dock, and tie up this boat alone is very likely how others will have to do it as well. Now that I've shown how it can be done, I think the stock in this boat will go up with the potential buyers that may have been worried about one person being able to handle it. I had no trouble.

Tight areas were not a problem on the Swift 34, and on test day, there were plenty of them. Even the swans turned to watch this beauty go by. Notice the spray rails that keep the boat dry at cruise speed. At low speed we did get a minimal amount of spray on the bow.

I didn't get to see the boat out of the water, but by the way she responded to the helm, I'm gathering that the rudder is quite substantial. When pulling out of the dock, we were immediately in very tight spaces between finger piers and she handled it with grace and poise, weaving in and around much larger yachts that didn't seem to want to share space with any other boats, let alone a slow moving trawler type. Pulling power off still showed a boat that was responding to the helm, with only the forward momentum acting on the rudder.

If you don't want to finesse the 34 around, then the optional bow and stern thrusters will take care of the job quite nicely, and that's how I ultimately backed the 34 into her tight slip. The thrusters are electric, but I worked them hard to see if they'd trip, and they kept right on going until I was done with them.

Cruising

At cruise settings, things were quiet and comfortable. I couldn't manage to get into any significant waves, but a passing cruiser now and then left sizable enough wakes for me to do some experimenting. I let us get caught in a 2' (.6 m) wake to see what would happen, and the result was… not much. We rolled only 5-degrees from level and the waves just passed under us. Quite a show of stability. I then cranked the wheel hard over from side to side (5 1/2 turns from lock to lock) and only was able to generate a maximum of 10-degrees roll.

At slow speed, the 34 tends to ride bow low, and for that reason, in light chop and low speed, she tends to take a bit of spray over the bows. Add speed and get the bow up, and the 34 likes to ride roughly 5-degrees bow high and therefore remains much drier.

Performance

We reached a top speed of 20.7 kts at 3100 rpm. At that speed we were burning 18.9 gph and getting 1.1 nmpg for a range of 208 nm. Best cruise was a match between 2350 and 2500 rpm where we were running at 13.1 kts and 14.7 kts respectively.

Best Cruise – Planing

But as this is a semi-displacement hull, you'll likely go for the added speed, as I did. 14.7 kts yielded an 11.4 gph fuel burn for 1.29 nmpg and a range of 245 nm. That's not bad for a 34 foot cruiser, and I could see myself going a lot of places at that speed, and then pulling back to loiter for days at my destination before powering back home.

The 34's happy spot is anywhere above 2000 rpm. Below that, and the hull is fully in the water and efficiency suffers. If you slow further, say to around 1500, you'll be running at just over 7 kts and can continue to do so for 467 nm.

Displacement Hull Speed

Now, you will be wanting to think about displacement speeds and maximizing the 34's range. Her waterline length is about 32.7' (9.98 m) which gives her a hull speed of 6.86 kts at 1.2 times the square root of 32.7.' At that speed the Swift 34 will only burn 1.96 gph giving her 3.71 nmpg and an incredible range of 705 nautical miles with a 10% fuel reserve in her 211 gallon (799 L) fuel tank. Now this is economical cruising, and you can smell the flowers at the same time.

This sort of flexibility opens up a lot of choices for how and where you'd like to cruise. Get out your charts and start marking off how far you can get at displacement speeds -- you'll be amazed at where you can go.

Recommendation

Overall, my experience with the Swift 34 was one of the more pleasurable times I've had testing a boat. I'm a cruiser at heart, and this boat had me envisioning a cruise through the Great Loop, or the inside passage to Alaska. Were I to take delivery in Europe, then I could spend years cruising the incredible coastlines and islands of the Med and the Baltic.

But most importantly, Beneteau designed the Swift 34 with the cruising couple in mind, and in that light, I think they hit their mark dead center. I think their use of space is superb and Beneteau puts their priorities on the things that are important from standpoints of seamanship and sea-keeping. If you have been dreaming about cruising, this may be the boat for you.

We think so much of this boat that we have made four videos of it. If you look at all of them, you should have a good feel for the boat.

Beneteau Swift Trawler 34 (2013-) Test Result Highlights

Best cruise for the Beneteau Swift Trawler 34 (2013-) is 16.9 mph (27.2 kph), and the boat gets 1.48 miles per gallon (mpg) or 0.63 kilometers per liter (kpl), giving the boat a cruising range of 282 miles (453.84 kilometers).

Beneteau Swift Trawler 34 (2013-) Warranty

Beneteau Swift Trawler 34 (2013-) Warranty Information

Warranties change from time to time. While BoatTEST.com has tried to ensure the most up-to-date warranty offered by each builder, it does not guarantee the accuracies of the information presented below. Please check with the boat builder or your local dealer before you buy any boat.

Full Warranty Information on this brand coming soon!

Beneteau Swift Trawler 34 (2013-) Price

Beneteau Swift Trawler 34 (2013-) Price

Pricing Range

$338,300.00 - $395,099.00

Prices, features, designs, and equipment are subject to change. Please see your local dealer or visit the builder's website for the latest information available on this boat model.